A VILLAGER’S attempt to stop cricket being played at Shamley Green, near Cranleigh, until proper protection is provided for his home was thrown out by a judge at Guildford County Court on Friday.

However, Mike Burgess was given 28 days to submit a new statement of claim with a view to a full trial being held into his dispute with Shamley Green Cricket Club.

He was warned by Judge Robert Reid, though, that it could prove very expensive for him if he lost the case – on Friday he was ordered to pay £3,600, representing 80% of the costs so far.

Mr Burgess, who was not represented at Friday’s hearing, was also told the county court was the wrong place to raise issues of general public safety – he had sought an independent risk assessment in relation to public use of the roads which, unusually, run through the cricket pitch’s boundary.

“A lot of what Mr Burgess wants done are matters properly dealt with by the local authority,” said Judge Reid.

The judge explained that it would only be possible to consider a request for an injunction [to stop cricket being played] if Mr Burgess had acted promptly.

Referring to the fact that the dispute had been going on for the past four years, since Mr Burgess moved into his home on The Green, the judge said: “Waiting four years is not acting promptly and an injunction must be refused.”

During the hearing, Judge Reid told Mr Burgess that he had submitted his claim using the wrong procedures and advised him to obtain proper legal advice before re-submitting it.

The judge - who at the outset of the hearing announced that he had played cricket on the pitch at Shamley Green, “though not since 1955” - accepted Mr Burgess might have a case against the club for “nuisance, trespass and possibly negligence”.

But he also said the fact that cricket had been played on The Green for so long – 169 years – might mean the club had acquired the right to play cricket and to go on Mr Burgess’s land to retrieve balls, “providing they pay for the damage”.

Petition

After the hearing Mr Burgess, who said he was happy with its outcome, insisted he would not be dropping the case, even though it could prove very expensive.

“It’s only just begun,” he declared, continuing: “It will highlight to the country that our democratic rights are going to the wayside.

“I think it is outrageous when cricketers have got a right over everybody else. Shamley Green has played cricket for 169 years, but there have been rapes and pillages for longer than that and it is still not right,” he added.

Shamley Green Cricket Club president Jim Drummond said he was happy with the result of the hearing, adding: “We did not want this to come to court in the first place.

“We have been reasonable with Mr Burgess in our negotiations,” he continued, insisting: “We are very determined that we keep cricket going on Shamley Green.”

He explained that a petition had generated 1,400 signatures in support of the club in less than a week.

“Cricket has been played for 169 years on The Green without interruption and it’s very central to the community.

“What is at risk is a central part of the village – the club is the oldest institution in the village apart from the church and it has got very strong support,” said Mr Drummond.

"Genuine implications"

Club captain Guy Pakenham said: “If Mr Burgess were to be successful it would change the complexion of Shamley Green, particularly in the summer.”

Mr Burgess continues to insist he does not want to stop cricket being played, saying the club had not done enough to protect his home, which he raised the height of after moving in.

He wants the 15ft-high nets currently erected in front of his home replaced by nets 25 feet in height.

He also claims that the unique nature of the Shamley Green pitch, which has two roads running through the outfield, poses unacceptable risks to walkers and other road users, though he was told this was not an issue for the county court.

“I have never wanted to stop the cricket, but they have backed me into a corner and I have no option but to take this action,” said Mr Burgess, who wants lofted shots to be discouraged by the introduction of a “six and out” rule for balls landing on private property.

He said he had originally offered to pay for the cost of protective nets, but claimed he was then expected to store and help erect them.

“If they had taken the offer in the first place we would not be going to court,” said Mr Burgess, who, despite the court action, has signed the club petition.

The club had feared the legal action could seriously affect its ability to continue playing in Shamley Green, its chairman David Harris also saying he thought there were "genuine implications for cricket clubs locally and nationally".

He insisted the club had done everything it could to meet Mr Burgess’s demands, saying he thought matters had been resolved to everybody’s satisfaction after lengthy negotiations with solicitors.

Shamley Green’s borough councillor, Mike Band, provided a witness statement for Friday’s court hearing in which he said the club had always taken “reasonable steps to minimise the risk of injury to persons or damage to property”.

It was only after Mr Burgess arrived in the village that he had become aware of any serious concerns associated with the cricket, he said.